NCAA Berth Caps Long Season For Terps

Maryland Coach Gary Williams kept moving toward the door of the John Paul Jones Arena press room as he shook Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage’s hand and congratulated him on the Cavaliers’ win. Littlepage pulled Williams in and offered him a few words of encouragement.

The Terrapins’ loss March 7 at Virginia had placed them in a precarious position heading into the following week’s ACC tournament. Maryland had to win two games – one of which against a top 10 opponent – to sustain its NCAA tournament hopes.

“Yeah, you know, we’re all right,” Williams told Littlepage. And then he moved on.

Eight days following that encounter, Williams’s words proved prophetic. The Terrapins – having advanced to the ACC tournament semifinals and put up a fight against the eventual champion – learned last night they would return to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons. Maryland was awarded the 10th seed in the West region and will face seventh-seeded California in the first round Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.

Throughout a season full of on-court intrigue and off-court tumult, players praised Williams for his ability to compartmentalize and to keep moving forward. Whatever the result of the previous game, they said, Williams’s sole focus remained on the horizon.

“If you’re in a situation like ours, you know, where it wasn’t completely smooth during the year, you’re going to feel like – and your players are going to feel like – you’re in and out of the tournament at various times during the year,” Williams said last night. “But what you have to do is maintain that ability to focus on the next game and not listen to everything that you hear or read or whatever and be able to still have hope that you can make it.

“When that happens, that’s when you erupt. That’s why that’s such a great feeling.”

At 6:19 p.m., players could be heard rejoicing volcanically in the amphitheater adjacent to the Comcast Center media room. Williams said Dave Neal, the team’s lone senior, was the most overjoyed. “All havoc broke loose,” according to junior guard Eric Hayes.

But for as ebullient as that moment was, players said the hours leading up to the selection announcements – much like the season – felt incredibly long and trying.

Sophomore guard Adrian Bowie said he woke up around 10 a.m. Sunday morning and later watched Tennessee play Mississippi State in the SEC tournament championship game. When Mississippi State claimed the SEC title and, thus, the conference’s automatic bid, Bowie said his nerves jolted.

The Bulldogs would not otherwise have earned a NCAA tournament berth and their victory snatched away a precious at-large bid from a pool of about a half-dozen bubble teams.

Bowie spent the next few hours sending roughly 150 text messages to “everybody in my phonebook.” Anything, he said, to pass the time.

The 24 hours following Maryland’s loss to Duke in the ACC tournament semifinals on Saturday were painstaking due to the season that preceded it. The Terrapins had their share of crests – defeating Michigan State, North Carolina and Wake Forest, all of which were ranked in the top 10 at the time – but they had several nadirs, as well.

Maryland lost games by 27, 29 and 41 points. It finished 2-6 on the road. It fell to a team that finished 11th in the ACC, as well as to one from the MEAC conference. That team, Morgan State, did end up also earning an NCAA tournament bid.

“When we lose games, Coach tells us – you know, he’s mad at that point, but then he just tells us we’ve got to move on,” sophomore guard Cliff Tucker said. “That’s better than just dwelling on a loss and thinking about that loss. We’ve got to prepare for other teams.”

The Terrapins never lost more than two games in a row, avoiding extended slides many observers expected at the outset from a squad lacking in size and experience. In the past two weeks, Maryland recovered from back-to-back losses to claim two vital ACC tournament victories.

On-court struggles were supplemented at times by off-court turmoil. In late January, Williams and Maryland athletic department officials became enthralled in a public spat. Williams also endured criticism of his recruiting patterns in recent years, as well as for the current roster he had assembled.

“All I worried about this year was my team,” Williams said. “I didn’t worry about what people said about my team or anything like that because we were trying to become a good basketball team, and I think this year stands out, you know, compared to a lot of years because it was a whole process throughout the year to get to where we could be a very good basketball team.”

That process – and the validation of it – was drawn out until nearly the last possible moment. Eight minutes before Maryland’s name was called, Arizona, a bubble team competing with the Terrapins for the tournament’s final few spots, was awarded the 12th seed in the West region.

“When we seen the first bracket and Arizona get in,” Bowie said, “it was like, ‘Ah, [expletive]. Here we go.’”

But Maryland had to be patient just a little bit longer for the moment some players thought might never come.

“It was a long wait for today,” Hayes said, “and I’m just glad it’s over now.”

C'mon all of you FOG's, let's hear about how the Terps are going to win one or two in the ACC.

Don't bother to make your MSG reservations. They won't get that far in the NIT.

Posted by: petecard | February 18, 2009 11:05 AM

Actually, I think we did win 1 or 2 in the ACC tourney, didn't we? Wow, thank you for telling us not to book MSG reservations, Petecard, since we wouldn't get that far in the NIT. You were right. Hard to make it that far in the NIT when you're not in the NIT, right Pete boy?

Missing the tournament for the 4th time in 5 years is simply unacceptable.

Our program is a real disappointment and I am disgusted.

Let's hear it Koolaid drinkers.

Posted by: petecard | March 9, 2009 6:30 PM

Well, you continue to misuse the Koolaid reference, but that's a separate issue. The real issue with this statement was that you said we missed the tournament for the 4th time in 5 years, and that you were "disgusted" with our program. Well, the strange thing is...we didn't miss the tournament for the 4th time in 5 years. We've actually now made it 2 of the last 3 years (not to mention, 13 of the last 16). Hmmm....Pete boy....Hmmm....

They're in. 'Nuff said. Getting in with this team? Come on, everyone's going to have their ups and downs and this team has been consistent over the past two decades. That's due to the coach. 'Nuff said.

Maryland plays in the NIT so often it should consider becoming the title sponsor.

Turtle Soup, brought to you by Gary Williams. Simply warm and serve.

Posted by: petecard | March 9, 2009 8:56 AM

Turtle soup? Pete, are you sure that you're not a duke fan? Seriously. These are the kinds of terms Duke fans use when referring about Maryland. I'm beginning to get suspicious here. Nevermind the fact that you thought we should have used the NC State game to get ready for the NIT. Lucky that Gary did not listen to use, eh!

What national championship coach has endured more scrutiny than Williams in recent years? Say what you want about his recruiting, but his coaching has been very good this year, as it almost always is, and I'm very happy for him and for this team after all the stuff they've had to go through this year.

LOL @ Barno1. The naysayers are one thing but unlike a King, Gary Williams can be questioned and the heat comes with the territory. The problem has been that the heat was never turned up as high as it was this year. He did wonders and every naysayer knew he could and was mad that he wasn't.

GET OVER IT. Nobody is eating crow, they are just happy that the Terps are in the tournament. If Gary performs belows expectations next year the naysayers will come back and it will still be justified. This is a business about a team we all love. We give Gary grief and we give him props and he earns both.

Poopy---why the animosity towards Gary Williams? You really expect a guy awaiting his postseason fate to be studying HIST208? Give me a break. Get over it. At least save the hating for after they lose to Cal/Memphis.

Actually, some people are very well eating crow at this very moment, Mr. Atruesportsjunkie. Do yourself a favor and look up what "eating crow" actually means and take a look at the comments that I've quoted, and you'll see countless examples of people eating plenty of crow.
C'mon all of you FOG's, let's hear about how the Terps are going to win one or two in the ACC.

When Petecard says "Don't bother to make your MSG reservations. They won't get that far in the NIT" and we end up 10 seed in the NCAA tournament after winning 2 games in the ACC tournament, Petecard is very well eating crow. He even admitted after the win over UNC that glad he was eating crow. Look it up.

Barno I think you are mistaken. According to the ACC website the Terps were predicted to finish 7th.

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102608aaa.html

The team was able to turn around a season that looked lost back in November and December. However, the team did not overachive nearly as much as you make it seem. Actually most of the team, aside from Greivis (and Neal at the end of the year) underachieved all season. This isn't one of Gary's greatest coaching feats and it sad that you and other fans are portraying it that way.

Posted by: SkinsFan991 | March 15, 2009 7:17 PM

======================================

HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA.

Looks like King-Fact Checker just makes up facts to suit his purpose.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA

Posted by: Poopy_McPoop | March 15, 2009 7:20 PM

Actually, Mr. Poopy McPoop, as someone else already pointed out, you really honestly thought there was only one poll of the ACC before the season? Wow, just wow.

As the Post reported, we were picked as low as LAST in the ACC before this season: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/26/ST2008102601737.html

Poopy McPoop, why are you even here commenting on things that you clearly know very little about? Beat it, nerd.

Hey all you naysayers.. the terps are part of march madness and that it all that counts.. take it from a older female terps fan... they have a run in them for the ncaa too... this team is capable and if they focus and play hard they will advance... Note that gary williams also some new blood coming in next year who can not only post up but shoot that three...williams can coach and this TERP team has a lot of heart... i am so proud of them and if only they could have denied duke the acc title it would have been icing on the cake ,, and allowed coach K to wipe the disgusting smirk off his face...
go terps .. we are proud of your season...keep it going.. be sure to
face guard those three point shooters ...take good care of the ball.... & take it HARD to the hoop to get to the free throw line....
( both of my kids are terp grads)

Poopy -as for your acid trips, they stopped making decent LSD back in 1969 when I was a freshmen at MD. More than likely your were taking some low grade crystal meth that was marketed as acid to gullible party animals such as yourself. GO TERPS!

Posted by: cba51 | March 15, 2009 9:18 PM
---------------------------

Nah, it was the real-deal acid. Of course the fungus is really the way to go.

Just because you went to some lacrosse and soccer games doesn't make you some great fan. If you want to get rid of a coach who's won a national championship, and ACC tourney and regular season titles, as well as led a program out of the depths of NCAA sanctions and from the brink of irrelevance, well, it's hard to argue that you're not a fair weather fan.

Great accomplishment for the Terps! Thanks Gary, thanks all the great young men playing their butts off to win. Go deep in the tourney, maybe Sweet 16. Gary Williams is a future Hall of Fame coach, and I'm glad he's our coach.

If you're going to sit there and criticize everything about the best coach in MD bball history who's won an ACC reg. season title, an ACC tourney title, and an NCAA title, gone to two final fours (the last two which no MD coach has ever done with no other team), then you're a fair weather fan. Period.

I haven't necessarily been happy with the team's performance over the last few years either. Hell, I'd like to see them win the championship every year. But despite his shortcomings, I'd rather have Gary Williams on the sidelines than almost any other coach in America.

From the story "In late January, Williams and Maryland athletic department officials became enthralled in a public spat."
I don't know what you think enthralled means, but clearly you have no idea of the actual meaning. Please stop being the 13 year old girl in creative writing class and stop trying to sound smarter than you are. Because you do this in every one of your columns Yanda, and it is no wonder your paper is on the brink of going under.

I do agree that people need to stop piling on the beat writers for writing stories "critical" of GW and the Terps. Their job isn't to be cheerleaders of MD basketball, it's to report. And many fans (including unabashed GW supporters like me) were interested in why the program had seemingly fallen from it's heights in 2002. And they provided a well reported story that, while somewhat critical of GW's recruiting "shortfalls", also showed him in a very positive light as far as his recruiting practices vis a vis the AAU, as well as his coaching ability regardless of the talent he has.

Poopy I bet you can throw a party and enjoy it all by yourself!! You are a joke of a poster and please ....please enjoy yourself. You obviously do not understand graduation rates and the ridiculous formula used to create this media pedestal. Gimme a break and use ALL the information provided instead nonsense and obvious bias. Poof poopy!! Easy as a fart...

Vasquez on critics: "All those people who wrote what they wrote and said what they said, now they can answer their own questions -- What else do they want? Hopefully, we can make it the Final Four, so they can really just never talk anymore about Maryland. Unbelievable job for coach Williams. If you look at our roster, we got guys who aren't super-talented; we got guys who just work hard every day. We're hard workers, and that's the reason we made it. We don't have the talent like UNC or Memphis or somebody like that, but we work hard and we're going to compete regardless."

Poopy: I actually find you a little funny. Saying anything derrogatory about the Terps will get Barno stirred up like sticking a twig into the bear cage. Just get a better name for yourself.

I'm sure there will be more to discuss and debate when the season finally ends, although I hope it doesn't end until at least the sweet 16. For now, let's just bask in the afterglow and enjoy making it to the dance. Regardless of how suicidals like petecard saying this isn't a big deal, it is a big deal. Just ask any Hokie, Hoya, or Nittany Lion fan if it's a big deal. We've been on the other side of the bubble before, so I'm thankful that the selection committee decided to come down on our side for a change.

Give me a break. Because of the reporting of beat writers on a local college basketball team? This is the height of idiotic paranoia that makes sports fans look ridiculous.

Prisbell and Yanda are just reporting. They're not cheerleaders, they're reporters, and part of being reporters is being critical, skeptical, and creating stories of interest to their readership, and why the 2002 national champs have struggled in recent years is certainly an interesting story.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to cancel my Post subscription because of some stories from the E-section.

grimesman, pris and yanda do report at times but for a while this seemed like more of an editorial page as well as a gossip page. I'm glad they are back on track but I see the concern coming from posters like Barno1

What seemed like an editorial page? The Terps Insider blog? One of the points of a blog (unlike, maybe, the day to day reportings of a teams win/loss results etc.) is to post one's personal perspective, and yes, to editorialize a bit. Nothing I saw in this blog, while it may have turned out to be inaccurate (like Maryland's needing a 9-7 record to get to the NCAA's), nothing in here was really attacking, Maryland, everything they said was more or less conventional wisdom.

As far as their actual reporting, I'm sure most of the criticism centers on the three part series. Well, they cover a team that won the NCAA's in 2002, and 7 years later have struggled to make the tournament in many of the years since then. I am an unrepentant Gary Williams apologist, but I think that is a perfectly legitimate story for them to do, and I thought in the end it was a fair and well-reported piece that actually increased my love for Gary Williams and the program he's built.

Am I missing something here? Weren't Barno1 and the Koolaid Kids right? Barno was going off on posters who were trashing the program and Gary. It sure seems that Gary is one hell of a coach and that the false rumors having him on the hot seat were both unsubstantiated and idiotic. Some posters (such as petecard) decided to take the Terps midseason struggles to attack Maryland/Gary. I saw it simply as Barno and the Koolaid Kids taking the opposing viewpoint and defending their views with well structured posts complete with facts and previous posts of corroboration.

bottom line? Terps are in, Gary is one hell of a coach. Many posters on here were wrong. I don't care if you admit it, just think next time before you feel the need to post b/c frankly petecards comments look pretty silly right about now.

Tony- I agree with you 100%. Though I'm only 23, I've been a terps fan since the days of joe smith, keith booth and sarunis jasekavechis. I've been lucky enough to been around for incredible consistency and the ultimate triumph as a fan in 2002. I was at cole for 9 pts 54 seconds and for almost all of 2002s undefeated home season. I love this program. To have these guys come in and just trash the program to make some cheap headlines pissed me off to no end. Gary and the terps have been the only team in town for over a decade! I love the skins but common ever since snyder has been around we're not a legitimate franchise. Gary has made the terps just that. 2 straight final fours and a national championship 7 years ago and this newspaper turns their back on us just like that? Why because Georgetown made a final four? That bet worked out real well for them this year. Its embarrassing how little class / respect the post has shown in respect to maryland, thankfully, gary just uses that stuff to motivate himself and his team even more...

Well, I see it as well-deserved. The Terps earned every bit of this one.

I'm not impressed with Cal. They're reasonably deep and bigger than the Terps, but then, who isn't? Most of their scoring comes from sub-6 footer Jerome Randle and 6'5" Pat Christopher, and those aren't bad matchups for Maryland. The Pac 10 had an off-year, and most of the Cal wins were piled up early. These Bears have lost three of their last five, and got pushed around by Ariz State in their latest contest.

Mike Montgomery teams are always disciplined, so they probably won't give the game away. Still, there's no Ryan Anderson out there to put the game away in last couple minutes. If Maryland can stay close on the boards, this one is eminently winnable.

You come talk to me though when you've seen a Terps game live in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Posted by: Poopy_McPoop | March 15, 2009 10:27 PM
Okay dumbass. I HAVE been to a game in Cameron, as well as games in Carmichael, Reynolds, UHall, Greensboro look up the names since they were all before you were off the nipple. I was also at the Terps Win in the Dean Dome 1896. So you said I can talk to you now, all I have to say is YOU ARE AN IDIOT.